Insanity - But True. Man PURPOSELY Infects Himself with Ear Mites. Name?
June 3, 2018 1:14 AM Subscribe
So I read about this (Dr.?) or lab guy who purposely put ear mites into his own ear to gauge wth a cat would feel like and wrote to report on it. I remember that he described the sensation like insane whooshing screeching sounds.
If it was Dr. Robert Lopez, who wrote of Mites and Men, I have yet to find the entire article online - and his descriptions. If you can help with this, very cool. If there is another guy, or anyone else who ventured into this strange territory, please post. There's a good reason to know this, I know - but yes, there is. Thank you.
If it was Dr. Robert Lopez, who wrote of Mites and Men, I have yet to find the entire article online - and his descriptions. If you can help with this, very cool. If there is another guy, or anyone else who ventured into this strange territory, please post. There's a good reason to know this, I know - but yes, there is. Thank you.
It was Dr Robert A Lopez, in 1968. I heard it on a podcast so I don't have many more details, but perhaps the confirmation will be helpful in your search.
Apparently he took mites from a cat, mixed them with his earwax and introduced them into his own ear, to learn whether they can infest humans as well. He reported it as being painful, with loads of sound which got louder as the mites went deeper. He'd gone deaf in that ear after 3 weeks, and after 4 could feel them crawl across his face.
He then did the experiment two more times.
(Entire podcast is pretty entertaining but if you want to jump to this specific moment it begins at about the 43:30 mark)
posted by myotahapea at 1:43 AM on June 3, 2018 [4 favorites]
Apparently he took mites from a cat, mixed them with his earwax and introduced them into his own ear, to learn whether they can infest humans as well. He reported it as being painful, with loads of sound which got louder as the mites went deeper. He'd gone deaf in that ear after 3 weeks, and after 4 could feel them crawl across his face.
He then did the experiment two more times.
(Entire podcast is pretty entertaining but if you want to jump to this specific moment it begins at about the 43:30 mark)
posted by myotahapea at 1:43 AM on June 3, 2018 [4 favorites]
Further poking about hasn't netted a copy of the article online, though Lopez did with an Ig Nobel for his efforts:
Veterinarian Robert A. Lopez took the Entomology Ig for his brave and successful attempts to find out whether ear mites from cats can inflict damage on humans. He did this by inserting mites into his own ears, not once, not twice but three times. Lopez's chilling report was published in the "Journal of the American Veterinary Society." At a post-Ig gathering, Lopez elaborated on his actions: "Somebody's got to be crazy enough to do it. Hey."
The article:
"Of Mites and Man," in The Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, vol. 203, no. 5, Sept. 1, 1993, pp. 606-7
It seems the AVMA Journal's online archives only go back to 2000 and casual searches haven't brought up a copy of it anywhere; you may need to check with a library, or contact them directly.
posted by myotahapea at 2:36 AM on June 3, 2018 [2 favorites]
Veterinarian Robert A. Lopez took the Entomology Ig for his brave and successful attempts to find out whether ear mites from cats can inflict damage on humans. He did this by inserting mites into his own ears, not once, not twice but three times. Lopez's chilling report was published in the "Journal of the American Veterinary Society." At a post-Ig gathering, Lopez elaborated on his actions: "Somebody's got to be crazy enough to do it. Hey."
The article:
"Of Mites and Man," in The Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, vol. 203, no. 5, Sept. 1, 1993, pp. 606-7
It seems the AVMA Journal's online archives only go back to 2000 and casual searches haven't brought up a copy of it anywhere; you may need to check with a library, or contact them directly.
posted by myotahapea at 2:36 AM on June 3, 2018 [2 favorites]
Best answer: Just to second myotahapea, it appears that online collections for that journal are limited to the JAVMA post-2000 online archives and something called the "Biodiversity Heritage Library" which has JAVMA collections from 1902-1924. However, if you happened to live in or near Ithaca, NY, the Veterinary Library at Cornell has print holdings through the 1990s (I imagine other vet schools in your region would have print holdings for JAVMA too!)
Also you may be interested in exploring some of the articles that cite Lopez's article (Google Scholar search result) (so it appears his uh experiments did have a helpful legacy, maybe, possibly)
posted by elephantsvanish at 11:19 AM on June 3, 2018 [1 favorite]
Also you may be interested in exploring some of the articles that cite Lopez's article (Google Scholar search result) (so it appears his uh experiments did have a helpful legacy, maybe, possibly)
posted by elephantsvanish at 11:19 AM on June 3, 2018 [1 favorite]
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https://www.wormsandgermsblog.com/2010/02/articles/animals/cats/ear-mites-and-the-strange-pursuit-of-knowledge/ which confirms the name Dr. Lopez.
The second one was http://kimberlymoynahan.com/2012/10/of-mites-and-men/ which contains some interesting quotes as well as links. This may help you further.
posted by Too-Ticky at 1:41 AM on June 3, 2018 [1 favorite]